Israel-Gaza conflict: Latest news as hostage explains why she shook Hamas militant's hand

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An 85-year-old woman who was released after being held hostage by Hamas for more than two weeks has explained why she shook the hand of one of her captors, wishing him 'peace'.

Yocheved Lifshitz was kidnapped by Hamas during its attack on her kibbutz close to the border with Gaza, where she was taken into a "spiderweb" network of underground tunnels.

She said she was beaten with sticks and had "been through hell".

When asked why she turned to shake hands with one of the Hamas militants as he turned her over to the Red Cross, she replied that they had treated her "with softness and supplied all our needs".

"We told them, no politics," she said of conversations they tried to have with their captors. "We didn’t answer them [on politics]. They talked about all kinds of things. They were very friendly to us. They took care of all of our needs; this must be said to their credit. We ate what they did."

At least 1,400 people were killed in the Hamas attack on Israel and more than 200 taken hostage. At least 20 hostages are said to have been killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza, Hamas said, while it has so far released four of the people who were taken.

Following the attack by Hamas, authorities in Gaza say more than 5,000 people have been killed in air strikes.

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